Carol James – April 2020

The April 1st meeting and lecture have been cancelled. We will be attempting an online alternative, with details to be announced.

Lecture: What is sprang, and how has it been used in the past?

Sprang is an ancient method for creating a variety of textile structures. This lecture will describe the way sprang works through diagrams, live demonstration, and touchable samples. The presentation will feature a series of images of sprang through history, from the bronze age in Scandinavia, through ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt, and visiting Medieval and Renaissance Europe. The technique was all but lost with industrialization. The speaker is adamant that we need to revisit this most adaptable textile method.

Carol James has been playing with strings since childhood. In the 1990s she fell into the grip of a special braiding technique called sprang. Ever since, she has been researching and exploring the varied possibilities of this textile method. She has visited examples in numerous museums, and attempted replicas of those examples. Her replica work lead to the invention of a pattern-writing system which she shares with students and on-line followers. She is the author of 3 books, and now 2 DVDs. She is the keynote speaker for this year’s CNCH Conference on April 3-5, 2020. spranglady.com